JANUARY 28th - FEBRUARY 12th 2013- a HOUSE SWAP with a French couple who are on a two year teaching appointment in New Caledonia. Yes, they are in our house and using our car whilst we do the same with theirs. If I find enough time to drag myself off the beaches and out of the markets etc I will try to put some photos etc here.
BACKGROUND STUFF (just to get you up to speed) New Caledonia was first populated by a hunter-gatherer people known as the Lapita, who arrived from the islands of Vanuatu around 1500 BC. The Lapita were the ancestors of the Melanesians and Polynesians. From about the 11th century AD until the 18th century, groups of Polynesians also migrated to New Caledonia.
Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island was made a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s ended in the 1998 Noumea Accord, which over a period of 15 to 20 years will transfer an increasing amount of governing responsibility from France to New Caledonia. The agreement also commits France to conduct a referendum between 2014 and 2018 to decide whether New Caledonia should assume full sovereignty and independence.
Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, 1,210 kilometres (750 mi) east of Australia,New Caledonia is surrounded by the world's largest enclosed lagoon, where marine treasures of all shapes and sizes lie waiting to be discovered - canyons and caves, exquisite coral, the smallest of tropical fish, turtles, sea snakes and sharks. Dolphin and whale spotting are other delights in store, or simply the luxury of total relaxation on the soft, warm sand of a deserted isle.
Well, we're here although we did mange to get through customs and immigration etc at Noumea and somehow finish outside without our bags! Gail kept insisting that she saw a sign saying it was further on ...hmmmmm? Luckily they took pity on us and allowed us back in to retrieve the bags which meant we then had to explain all over again to the customs guys why we didn't have the cards that we had already handed in on our way through the first time!
The shuttle bus driver met us and straight away asked if we knew how to find the place we were staying at as he didn't know it at all and couldn't find it on a map. With a little help from some notes we had and a couple of passengers throwing in their 2 bobs worth we did finally find it and settled in.
We've only been here a few hours and managed to get lost in the car already!
We went to the supermarket a few kms away - no-one warned us that you would need 150 francs for the tollway - we had 100 ONLY - luckily the bloke was friendly, had a laugh, gave us directions to the supermarket and waved us through!
Coming back we took a wrong turn and finished up "who knows where?" Gail propositioned a bank security guy and got us back home safely!
ahhhh I love driving in strange places, in traffic, not knowing where you are going AND all on the wrong side of the road in a French manual Renault!
Day one - more to come! Can hardly wait!
View from kitchen window
Pate, French wine and local beer - does it get better?
New Caledonia was first populated by a hunter-gatherer people known as the Lapita, who arrived from the islands of Vanuatu around 1500 BC. The Lapita were the ancestors of the Melanesians and Polynesians.
From about the 11th century AD until the 18th century, groups of Polynesians also migrated to New Caledonia.
Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island was made a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s ended in the 1998 Noumea Accord, which over a period of 15 to 20 years will transfer an increasing amount of governing responsibility from France to New Caledonia. The agreement also commits France to conduct a referendum between 2014 and 2018 to decide whether New Caledonia should assume full sovereignty and independence.
Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, 1,210 kilometres (750 mi) east of Australia, New Caledonia is surrounded by the world's largest enclosed lagoon, where marine treasures of all shapes and sizes lie waiting to be discovered - canyons and caves, exquisite coral, the smallest of tropical fish, turtles, sea snakes and sharks. Dolphin and whale spotting are other delights in store, or simply the luxury of total relaxation on the soft, warm sand of a deserted isle.
Well, we're here although we did mange to get through customs and immigration etc at Noumea and somehow finish outside without our bags! Gail kept insisting that she saw a sign saying it was further on ...hmmmmm? Luckily they took pity on us and allowed us back in to retrieve the bags which meant we then had to explain all over again to the customs guys why we didn't have the cards that we had already handed in on our way through the first time!
We've only been here a few hours and managed to get lost in the car already!
We went to the supermarket a few kms away - no-one warned us that you would need 150 francs for the tollway - we had 100 ONLY - luckily the bloke was friendly, had a laugh, gave us directions to the supermarket and waved us through!
Coming back we took a wrong turn and finished up "who knows where?" Gail propositioned a bank security guy and got us back home safely!
ahhhh I love driving in strange places, in traffic, not knowing where you are going AND all on the wrong side of the road in a French manual Renault!
Day one - more to come! Can hardly wait!